Nasice Jewish Cemetery

Našice is a town in eastern Croatia, located 51 km southwest of Osijek, in Isijek-Baranja County. The first recorded mention of Nasice was in 1229. The town was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1541 and it was a part of Sanjak of Pojega until 1687.

The town was famous for its woodworking, brick production, and flour-making industries. The first Jews arrived in the town in the early 19th century from Eastern Europe, but an organized community was not established until the end of the 19th century. Most of the Jews worked as merchants and artisans. The Jewish cemetery was established in 1805 and the synagogue was built in 1898. Wealthy members of the Jewish community played a significant role in the economic development of the town and the area. In 1910 there were 599 Jews in the town, accounting for 6.5% of the total population. In the 1920’s, the Croatian economy experienced a severe crisis that affected the prosperity of the Jewish community and, as a result, many of its members left for larger cities. Between the 1920’s and 1930’s only 400 Jews lived in Našice. After the invasion of Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany, Croatian nationalists began to persecute the Jews. The entire Jewish community was deported to and killed in death camps. The synagogue was destroyed in 1942. No more Jews lived in the town after the war and all Jewish property was confiscated in 1948.

The Našice Jewish cemetery is preserved though, as of 2009, it was neglected. There are 203 graves in the cemetery, as well as nearly 70 identified tombstones. The oldest tombstone dates to 1835, and the latest to 1941.